Game Reports and Fish

Alright, guys, I got some game reports for you. I'll just jump into it. I had 2 semi-okay nights of magic. One was with the brothers, Chris, Bijan, and a new guy, Kevin. Kevin basically got 6 packs of 9th Edition and 3 of Mirrodin. I helped him build his deck. It was like sealed deck, just much shakier. So, without further ado, game time!

Game 1: Me (Running the UGW Gifts deck I just recently built, also the only deck I brought that night) vs Bijan, running a RW Midrangeish deck.

The first few turns are spent keeping off an early rush of Boros Swiftblades and ilk with Snaps and Ghostly Prisons. I had a fairly nice hand, and on turn 7, I drew a Gifts Ungiven. My Current hand was Eternal Witness and Compulsion, so I was fairly sure I'd be happy with whatever I gifted up. I lay Compulsion and passed the turn. On his turn, he Incendiary Commands (?!) dealing 4 to me (...) and making each of us get a new hand (!!). Arg! My new hand is crap: Lands, STE, and Explosive Vegetation. Wow. End of his turn I cycle some stuff away with Compulsion... right into Eternal Witness. Nice. I play the regrowther, getting Gifts, and pass the turn. This turn, I meet no opposition, grab my Gifts package (Wtiness, Roar of the Wurm, Debtor's Knell, Decree of Justice). He gave me the Roar and the Decree. I discard the Roar and draw into a Witness, get the Knell, and shortly recur my whole graveyard, winning with a dozen tokens and Witness beats, fighting through another Incendiary Command.

That's pretty much exactly how I want the deck to run. Awesome that it works on its first test run.

Game 2 was now a multiplayer FFA. I was running Gifts, of course. Bijan got out his much stronger UW Control deck, Morty went BU control, Chris went with his bajillion-card Mono Blue deck that wins off of Forced Fruitions, Windfall, and stupidly large Skyscribings. Bijan won the die roll, so I was last. Schade...

The first action of the match was on turn 2, and it was a doozy. Morty dropped a Shapesharer, and it resolved. I put up some early defenses with Carven Caryatid and Sakura Tribe-Elder. No Ghostly Prison to be found, though, and it's always a star in Multiplayer. However, there're no worries, as there's nothing aggro going on. A turn 4 Kami of the Crescent Moon from Chris meets a Rune Snag, but it gets payed for. Then, a turn 5 Grave Pact by Morty puts everyone on the edge, and makes them careful with creatures. I just drop my 4th (lol) Sakura Tribe-Elder and ship the turn, planning to Wish for a possible Gifts or something. Maybe a Krosan Grip. However, something else comes up. Bijan Drops a Grand Arbiter (Augistine the 4th? Something) and everyone else passes priority to me. I could wish up a Counterspell, but that seems so... wasty. Instead, I go for a flashier play. I Cunning Wish up a Hunting Pack, and then play it for 3 4/4's. I'll just beat him down instead.

The turns go around with nothing scary, and I beat Bijan for 12. He then Solar Tides. Dang. Come everyone's EOT, I try to Gifts Ungiven, but it gets countered. Then I Witness back the Gifts, and just when everyone things I'm the big threat, now, Morty drops a No-Stick (Counterspell on an Isochron Scepter). I'm forced to Krosan Grip it, and I have to hard-cast a Roar of the Wurm. I swing it at Bijan and he freakin' blocks with the Arbiter! And, just when I think it couldn't get better, I resolve a Debtors Knell. With a Field of Witnesses and STE's (I had enough mana, I chose to just wait and Block-and-Sac), I was confident that I could pull ahead quickly... until Bijan drops Akroma. It would have come at me if it wasn't for 2 Prisons I had pulled up.

And then Morty drops Ascendant Evincar. This kills his own Shapesharer, and everyone has to Sac a creature and lose their x/1's. Basically: The field is now the Evincar. I knell up Akroma, and swing it at Morty. Then the game breaker came. Bijan Austere Commanded for all Bigguns and Enchantments. Wiped my freaking board, two turns in a row. EOT, I Gifts (resolves), and I get Roar and Ghostly Prison while an Eternal Witness and Academy Ruins go into the graveyard. Everyone else explodes over the next turns while I play catch-up. Chris Body Doubles Akroma, Bijan has a double Guile, and I get Glimpse the Unthinkable.

I witness up the Knell, it resolves... and I get Glimpsed again, and milled FTL. Bijan ended up winning that by stealing spells and beating face with 2 unblockables.

Game 3 was a Three-Way Two-Headed Giant... and this game was a marathon. Throughout the game, there were over a dozen Sundering Titan triggers. The teams were Me and Chris, with Gifts and Sliver/Dragons, Morty and Kevin with Clerics and WUr Stuff, and Bijan and Alec, with RW Midrange and MostlyU Artifacts.

We lead off with a Heart Sliver and STE, but our x/1's were quickly put in check by a Viridian Longbow by Kevin. Bijan and Alec basically have no early game, while we have a steady flow of Slivers (including a Sinew, most importantly) and defense, with Prisons and Caryatids. Morty and Kevin are only at 21 after repeated attacks because of a Lenoin Elder that has triggered off of all the artifacts being played.

Morty gets a Daunting Defender and Vile Deacon, and suddenly all of my attention was shifted to them, and not to the guy who had just pulled a Teferi and Broodstar off of some tutors.

Game Highlight! I go to Wish for a Gifts, and Bijan says, and I quote: "Don't counter it... I just remembered Akroma's not an Instant."

Yeah, wow. Over the next few turns, Alec resolves Teferi, Bijan clears all of Morty's bombs, and we take that opportunity to punch through with slivers for the kill on the KevinMorty team. Then, the first Sundering Titan. Pow, sock! On the very next turn, though, Bijan DOUBLE FREAKING HEATSHIMMERs the Sundering Titans. Chris, with Domain, loses all of his lands. I most of my basics. Bijan loses... a plains. We block with Caryatids, and a stalemate begins. Bijan Brightflame's some of our slivers, and the life totals are suddenly very far apart, 16 to 43. With a constant Debtor's Knell/Eternal Witness, I'm able to hold off with a single Snap until I drew into a second Snap, allowing us to break the stalemate and being able to recommit to Slivers than defense.

Here comes Brightflame number two, wiping the board of all green creatures. It is now 16 to 99. Then Alec Copy Artifact's Sundering Titan. And then again. And then Heatshimmer.

Once again, no lands. One gets trample from a Loxodon Warhammer, and they all charge in. Everyone, including Teferi! With the choiciest blocks, we drop to 10, and I promptly Knell up Teferi. Then, I return to the Snap/Witness routine, holding off a 15/15 Broodstar. Once I draw into a Triskelavus, we're able to start Knelling slivers. We nab a Gemhide, Telekinetic, Sinew, and Sidewinder over the next few turns. With flanking, Alec's indestructable weenie blockers eventually wear out, and we can tap them down long enough to swing for the win.

This game took ~2 1/2 hours. Yeah, we were done for the night.

The next night, the crew was different. It was just Me, Brett, and Chris. I built a cheesy Mind's Desire/Empty the Warrens deck. It goes off for 160 Goblins. Pyrohemia. Next game, though, I kill. That deck got old, fast. When Matt got here, I comboed off for 42 Gobbo's. Meh. Done with that deck.

The only big multiplayer game of the night was dull. Chris had consecutive Forced Fruitions, and after I'm forced to deal with him, my fliers are tapped out for Brett's fairies. Weeeak.

So, that night, I decided it was time for me to build one of my favorite Archetypes: UB Fish. It could've been cool. It actually has a 3-3 record. But, the problem is, it just stalls out, and sometimes I just can't force through the damage.

Here's the list:
10 Swamps
7 Islands
3 Chrome Mox
2 Lotus Petals

4 Dark Confidant
4 Looter il-Kor
3 Rakdos Guildmage
3 Ravenous Rats

4 Cabal Therapy
2 Thoughseize
1 Duress

3 Mana Leak
4 Spell Snare

3 Brainstorm
3 Impulse

3 Loxodon Warhammer

1 Profane Command

Specific card choices:
Ravenous Rats - Until there's a 2 cost Cantripper that's not Silvergill Adept, I need this guy. He effectively replaces himself.
Rakdos Guildmage - Removal, 2/2 for 2.
Looter - With a warhammer, he's a wincon. Loots, which is good.
Profane - It can kill, 2-for-1, kill, or kill. All are great choices.

I need efficient beaters. And Force of Will. Schade.

Hooray for the last card in Morningtide! The set looks pretty sweet.